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The Power of Podcasts Part 1: “What is a Podcast?”

Apple founder, Steve Jobs said in 2005, “Podcasting is the next generation of radio and users can now subscribe to more than 3,000 free podcasts and have each new episode automatically delivered over the Internet to their computer and iPod.”

Fastforward to the present and now the iTunes store has more than half a million Podcasts available. All in the course of just over a decade.

My own Managing Director and glorious leader, David Clarke asked me quite out of the blue “How much do you know about Podcasts?”

For a moment I was quiet. I knew that podcasts were a popular form of media consumption and had listened to several different series myself.

Correction, they were vast.

Ranging from politics, murder mysteries and how to cook a superb chicken pasta bake, Podcasts are changing the way we could consume information. Much like Netflix has delivered TV and Films on a platter, Podcasts deliver what we want, when we want it.

I knew, however, this question wasn’t about simply listening to podcasts. As the new blood in the company, this would be about making them.

“I know they are very popular form of entertainment. That’s about it really.” Was my honest – if a little blunt – response.

With that answer I had sealed my fate and from then on was tasked to creating a podcast series for one of our clients. I’m not one to turn down a challenge but even I had to admit to myself that this was far beyond my experience ceiling.

So, the question I asked myself was: How do I conjure up a podcast from thin air?

While a large portion of my university days were spent eating pizza and ignoring the debt I was accruing, I did learn one thing. I am very good at research and research will reap endless rewards if you are patient enough – and have enough Pizza!

Many an hour to begin with would be spent finding out the software and hardware needed to create a podcast in the first place.

The actual process of recording and editing certainly didn’t seem daunting to me. But reaching that stage was something that baffled me. However, I was excited to see what could come of this project.

Podcasts are a way for any organisation or individual to express themselves to an alternative audience for relatively low costs – think of them as audio “blogs”.

From the humble sole trader, to the biggest FTSE 100 corporation, the Podcast next can be cast far and wide and easily distributed through various platforms.

As Forbes writer, Chris Giliberti said, “oral storytelling has served a critical role as the sole means of abstracting experiences and emotions in narrative form.”[1]

It all started with a question – and it was certainly a big question. How?